lair

noun

1. 1

   A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.

   O dainty dew, O morning dew / That gleamed in the world's first dawn, did you / And the sweet grass and manful oaks / Give lair and rest / To him who toadwise sits and croaks / His death-behest?

   “Would you go into the dragon's lair, my peerless Wiglaf?”

2. 2

   A shed or shelter for domestic animals.

3. 3

   figurativeA place inhabited by a criminal or criminals, a superhero or a supervillain; a refuge, retreat, haven or hideaway.

   ...Van Helsing stood up and said, "Now, my dear friends, we go forth to our terrible enterprise. Are we all armed, as we were on that night when first we visited our enemy's lair. Armed against ghostly as well as carnal attack?"

   [H]e did a little scout work, and discovered the lair of that old woman.

4. 4

   A bed or resting place.

   Then would I in Plenty's lap, For the first time take a nap; Falling back in easy lair, Sweetly slumb'ring in my chair;

   Wake ye, sleep ye, my hapless boy, In this homeless house of care? Lack ye the warmth of a mother's eye On the cauldrife, lonely lair?

5. 5

   A grave; a cemetery plot.

   […] but few knew the reason, and some thought it was because the deceased were strangers, and had no regular lair. I dressed the two bonny orphans in the best mourning at my own cost […]

   This is one of the 'lairs' of the Harknesses of Holestain and Haprig.

   […] I would purchase a lair in the Necropolis, and have wee Johnnie removed from his humble resting-place, and laid down [there].

   We appreciate that this is a sensitive issue for lair owners and would like to assure them that the maintenance of the cemetery is carried out in a sensitive and dignified manner.

6. 6

   A group where pickup artists meet to discuss and practise seduction techniques.

verb

1. 1

   To rest; to dwell.

   The lee-light that December gies Was lairing in the wast, Whan Christy wi' her oa claes, Was boun' to dree the blast.

2. 2

   To lay down.

3. 3

   To bury.

noun

1. 1

   A bog; a mire.

verb

1. 1

   To mire.

2. 2

   To become mired.

noun

1. 1

   A person who dresses in a showy but tasteless manner and behaves in a vulgar and conceited way; a show-off.

noun

1. 1

   Variant of layerobsoleteObsolete form of layer.

   The walls, which are fixed direct into the ground without a plinth, are made of wattle and plastered with a thin lair of mud or cowdung.

Forms

plural

lairs

past tense

laired

past participle

laired

present participle

lairing

third person singular

lairs